Southern Alberta - Fabulous Western Canada: Capture the Excitement of the Great West! - page 157

them is mid-June. There are, however,
no cypress trees in the park; the French
word for lodgepole pine is cyprès , and
the name montagnes de cyprès was mis-
translated to Cypress Hills.

uted to the establishment of the North
West Mounted Police to restore order.
Three hundred Mounties arrived at Fort
Walsh, Saskatchewan, and the men
responsible for the massacre were ar-
rested. Though they were not convicted
because of lack of evidence, the fact
that white men had been arrested gave
credence in the eyes of the Aboriginal
people to this new police force.

This was also the site of the Cypress Hill
Massacre. Two American whisky-trad-
ing posts were established in the hills
in the early 1870s. During the winter of
1872-3, some Assiniboine were camped
in the hills, close to these two posts,
when a party of drunken American
hunters, whose horses had been stolen,
came upon the band of Assiniboine.
Believing that they had taken the hors-
es, the American hunters killed 20 inno-
cent Assiniboine. The incident contrib-

The park is rarely very busy, which
provides visitors with an opportunity
to enjoy great hiking and fi shing in a
peaceful environment. They can also
rent boats or bicycles and play golf
in summer, and go downhill skiing or
spend a day tobogganing in winter.

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Between the mountains and the plains, in the
heart of Alberta. © Travel Alberta